StemCell Therapy

Remember the lines in that great old song? Jeepers, creepers, whered you get those peepers? Jeepers, creepers, whered you get those eyes?

When it comes to aging, that phrase should be Jeepers, creepers, take care of those eyes!

Myth: Live long enough and you wont be able to see a thing.

Despite lyrical language about our eyes, loss of vision typically feels inevitable, as we get older. By middle age, most of us are feel the need to carry reading glasses everywhere and joking about needing longer arms to help read the fine print of this newspaper and just about everything else. Add a couple of decades, and we resign ourselves to living with the fuzzy blur of cataracts until were eligible to have them surgically removed.

We anticipate changes in our sight as normal aging. But specific changes in vision are not well understood. Consequently, many of us often think aberrations are normal and not likely to seek guidance from an eye care specialist.

Reality: Age-related vision changes are relatively limited while eye diseases common in later life can result in permanent vision loss if untreated.

The eye ages in several important ways. Normal age-related changes result in specific differences in vision, some of which are easily apparent and others of which are harder to see, if you'll pardon my pun.

The change that gets almost all our attention is presbyopia literally "old eyes." Beginning early in adulthood, the lens of the eye begins to lose flexibility making it harder to focus from near to far and back again. Sometime in the 40s, this lose becomes noticeable. Around age 60 or so, flexibility plateaus, resulting in no further loss of near vision.

Presbyopia is worse with fatigue. The tiny muscles in the eye that work to flex the lens and focus our eyes get tired just like other muscles. Close work think of using a computer, reading for long periods, or doing things like sewing makes the eyes dry, which in turn makes presbyopic vision worse.

Other visual differences that come with age are more noticeable in particular situations. Sensitivity to glare is more bothersome at night while driving and in buildings with shiny floors and bright lights.

Some changes in vision that occur more frequently as we age are actually signs of eye diseases. They create serious risk to sight if ignored. While cataracts are the most familiar eye condition in later life, knowing about the less familiar diseases of glaucoma and macular degeneration is critical.

Cataracts are a clouding of the lens of the eye, creating foggy looking vision with difficult seeing colors clearly as well. Cataracts occur when normal aging changes combine with damage from personal habits like smoking, diseases like diabetes and environmental exposures especially ultraviolet light (UV).

By 80, the majority of us have cataracts or have had them surgically removed. Surgery is the welcome part of having cataracts. Surgery removes the damaged lens and inserts a new, prosthetic version, literally restoring vision.

Curative treatment is not yet possible with glaucoma and macular degeneration. These two less common but more problematic eye diseases require early detection and continuous treatment to stabilize vision and protect against blindness.

Glaucoma is a disease where pressure inside the eyeball itself gets too high. There are two primary forms but open angle glaucoma is the most common. It is painless and there are no initial symptoms.

High pressures in the eye damage the optic nerve over time creating gradual loss of peripheral or side vision over time. Untreated, glaucoma can progress to complete blindness. African Americans, Mexican Americans and people over 60 are at greater risk.

Age-related macular degeneration or AMD results in visual loss that is the opposite of that in glaucoma. The macula is a special spot in the center of the retina, at the back of the eyeball. The macula contains specialized cells for sharp, central vision.

With AMD, ability to see what is right in front of us fades. Reading, driving, and anything for which we need to see what is right in front of us is lost. Advanced AMD does not create total blindness but it does make those with advanced disease functionally blind. Smoking along with family history increase likelihood of developing AMD.

Tips: Young or old, take care of your eyes.

Protecting our eyes is essential to our vision as we age. Guidance on how to protect and preserve vision is helpful, no matter what your age:

Email me at mythsofaging@gmail.com and tell me what you think about sight in later life. Follow me on Twitter @SarahHKagan for tweets about myths of aging, health, and aging well. Until next time, be well and stay active.

Read this article:
Eying vision changes and problems related to aging - Burlington County Times

This entry was posted on February 19, 2017 at 6:45 am and is filed under Eye Sight & Vision. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |